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Tony Scott directed a memorable career

Hollywood is a little dimmer after the tragic death of fame action director Tony Scott on Sunday. Scott, who was 68, jumped off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles around 12:30 pm. Several notes were found left to loved ones in his car and office.

His death at first left many wondering why, but a source close to Scott revealed to ABC News that he had inoperable cancer in his brain. For those who might not be well versed in the world of movies, Scott made some of the best action films in the past 30 years, his most memorable being Top Gun.

He was born Anthony David Scott on June 21, 1944, in North Shields, England. He was the youngest of three boys, one of them being Ridley Scott, the famed producer and director. The two of them worked together in the film industry, creating Scott Free Productions. At the young age of 16, Tony made an appearance in brother Ridley’s first short film, Boy and Bicycle. Graduating from the Royal College of Art, Tony had ambition to become a painter. But the lure of film and working with his big brother was too appealing to pass up.

Working at Ridley Scott Associates, Tony started his career making commercials. For two decades, he built an incredible line of work in the commercial industry (and, of course, big brother’s film success helped, too), which had Hollywood knocking on his door by the 1980s. It was around that time that his eldest brother, Frank Scott, died of cancer. By 1982, Tony was snagged by MGM to direct his first feature length film, The Hunger. It was a vampire film starring David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve. It also introduced Willem Dafoe, who would go on to be a big time actor. The film bombed at the box office and it looked like Tony Scott’s film career might be over.

Three years later, though, success came knocking in the form of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. They wanted him to direct Top Gun and he reluctantly agreed. The film did not go without its criticism, but it became one of the largest grossing films of 1986 and brought fame to its leading man, Tom Cruise. The movie propelled Tony’s career to the top of the industry. Quickly, he reteamed with Bruckheimer and Simpson to direct Beverly Hills Cop 2 (to me, the best in the series).

From there, most of his film career took place in the ’90s, the first two being Revenge and Days of Thunder in 1990. In Days of Thunder, he worked once again with Cruise, making one of the best race car films to date and further propelling both of their careers.

In 1991, Tony directed Bruce Willis in The Last Boy Scout. By 1993, he was making the Quentin Tarantino scripted film True Romance starring Christian Slater. Two years later, he worked with Denzel Washington, who would become his most used leading man, in Crimson Tide. They later collaborated on Man on Fire (2004), Déjà Vu (2006), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) and, most recently, Unstoppable (2010).

A few days before his death, I was watching his film Spy Game starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, and realized how much I have always enjoyed his work. Spy Game, along with Enemy of the State, really conveys the cinematic eye that Tony Scott had. His movies gave the audience adrenaline filled with suspense and great drama.

I hate that he left the world in the manner that he chose. Who knows, he could have given the world one more great film. Either way, I will always enjoy the mark he left on the film industry and the movies he leaves behind.